Enter the world of PC games

GAMES: A good rank in a racing, strategy or war game means you have sharp reflexes and a sharp mind. Playing is believing.

RISE OF LEGENDS
Like most games, Rise of Legends is a sequel (of sorts) to the earlier Rise of Nations. There is inspiration drawn from the parent game, but that only gives the gamer an idea of what to expect. A fairly simple strategy game, it involves leading the forces of a civilisation in what looks like a simple quest for revenge.

The second campaign will require teaming up with a civilisation and realising there's more at stake than personal vendetta. The third and final stage marks the entry of the third civilisation in the conflict and here the scores are settled. Rise of Legends has a great visual appeal with the units distinct and full of character.

Verdict: The game is a decent start for those who want to branch-off into the world of games.

CIVILIZATION IV
Civilization IV comprises innovative ways to manage your civilisation in an intense multiplayer mode. A beautifully-detailed, living 3D world almost elevates the gameplay experience to a whole new level.

An army which can be custom-built is an endearing feature. Additionally, 70 in-game movies and animated sequences are great pillars that take make the story telling lucid. You can play it with many players (multiplayer) or alone.

Verdict: A declared must-have for gamers around the world. Newcomers to the series can simply jump in and play.

TOMB RAIDER LEGEND
Lara Croft is known to even those who have never played the game. One of the most talked about characters in world of gaming, Tomb Raider and the initial fame of Lara was phenomenal. The latest, Tomb Raider Legend, is an attempt at resurrecting Lara to her former glory (a couple of bad titles in the series had hit the game's popularity).

The Lara Croft in Tomb Raider Legend is cosmetically different. The character has the original flavour but the clothes have been restyled, some additions in the looks department and the character's attitude speaks a lot for itself.

The game is an action packed, full of brainteasers, offering a few hours of satisfactory gameplay. The game has a decent story, as per Tomb Raider tradition that requires travelling all around the world searching for hidden artefacts.

Verdict: A game for all ages that will sure make you a Lara Croft fan.

EMPIRE AT WAR
Star Wars: Empire at War by all means manages to convey the coolness of the original trilogy, Star Wars. Certainly not a conventional real-time strategy game, it has added requisite amount of excitement with toys like stormtroopers shooting rebel soldiers, bounty hunters tracking smugglers, planes chasing each other through asteroid fields and the 'Death Star' blowing the senses out of planets.

The set-up is undeniably authentic and almost eerie. Split decisions like when to destroy an enemy structure instead of losing your own unit, the need to retreat, careful use of heroes and deciding when, where and whom to fight can make or break the game.

Empire at War allows the player to take part in a galactic civil war by strategically manoeuvring forces around the galaxy, leading the soldiers and spaceships into combat with the enemy. Since the game calls for strategising upon how to build up forces and take over the galaxy, it might not be as thrilling as squaring off against your enemy in a face-to-face battle.

Verdict: Not an easy game but learning to play Empire at War will definitely leave you a bit more smart.

HALO
Most first person shooter games don't have that much as a story line, all that is required is the skills to kill everything that moves. But Halo is a different story all together. Unlike some games, there is a decent artificial intelligence in the computer-controlled characters, the enemies and the other marines. Comments such as "finally you made it here" and "what the hell was that" sound very natural when made a part of the game.

The physics in Halo is also very impressive with vehicles and player bodies responding appropriately to explosions and bumps in the terrain. A careful eye would tell you things like spent cartridges actually roll to a low point on the ground. Now that's cool.

There's lot of other cool things that are realistic such as the fact that it is not always the same drama that happens and same positions of enemies when one moves about. The effects of the game are awesome. Painstaking details have been put into elements like sound effects.

The sound of walking depends on the ground surface seems so very natural. The sound effects are stereo sounds, so if something happens on the left, you'll hear it on the left.

Verdict: A great storyline and an interactive environment make Halo a great experience.

COMMANDOS STRIKE FORCE
A 3D incarnation of the squad-based strategy brings in three character archetypes that are recognisable from the original series. Each of these chaps is controlled in first person shooter (FPS) style.

The real trick is integrating the three characters in a single level. Since their abilities do not necessarily complement each other, the game requires you to find the best way of putting them together. Each of the three commandos has his moments of heart-stopping heroism and extreme tension.

This latest version of Commandos does not shirk when it comes to guns and action, so the screams of fallen allies can be really pretty harrowing, even if they come from far extremities.

Verdict: Commandos does entertain, especially as it becomes more ambitious at every level.

NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERGROUND RIVALS
Need for Speed: Underground Rivals is a gentle reminder of the fact that driving is all about mastering bothersome controls and also the sense of control. The basic premise is similar to a racing game "� race, progress to harder levels, earn points and unlock new cars.

In the case of Underground Rivals one can also upgrade his cars both visually and practically. With only three basic car attributes to consider (acceleration, top speed and handling) the game is not too much of a problem for beginners and leisure players.

The game does a lot of things right, like letting one get straight into the meat of the game. It offers a variety of modes, nearly all of which can be played for just a few minutes at a time.

Verdict: Even if a gamer might have never sat behind the wheels of a car, controlling four-wheeled machines in Need For Speed comes across as a challenging task.

BATTLEFIELD 2: EURO FORCE
Carrying forward the legacy of Battlefield, this one's set against an Asian backdrop. Euro Force brings in new vehicles, sensational maps, the EU as a fighting force and a whole lot of new weapons that are magnificent to use.

The best part of this game is inclusion of detailed new maps, namely Great Wall, Operation Smoke Screen and Taraba Quarry. The sight of EU battling against the Chinese around a section of the Great Wall of China is a nail-biting battle. The game campaigns are a combination of an urban and open combat in one finely-tuned mixture of total mayhem and destruction.

Verdict: If you can team up with a good squad, Battlefield 2 remains one of the most intense and fun-filled action games that you can play.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT
In the World of Warcraft, one can alter egos by choosing from a variety of colourful races and powerful classes. The fundamentals such as fighting dangerous creatures (optionally including other players), exploring the countryside either alone or in the company of other players, undertaking various quests, gaining experience levels and new abilities, and acquiring powerful items are all here.

However, directly comparing World of Warcraft with any of its predecessors would be like pitting a professional sports club against a school team. So the particulars of the game's design "� along with its incredibly vast, beautiful, majestic world "� translate into a one-of-a-kind experience that seems fresh and original in its own right. The game's interface is slick, easy to learn and the gameplay itself is so intuitive that there's no tutorial to wade through.

Verdict: World of Warcraft is a complex game whose complexity is carefully disguised by a simple, highly legible, uncluttered interface and an impressive 3D graphics engine.

GUILD WAR FACTIONS
Those who have known about the earlier Guild Wars Prophecies will have an upperhand with the advantage of knowing the game's mechanics inside and out. There are 15 core missions that tell Faction's story while it takes you on a tour of Cantha, an Asian-themed continent in the game.

There are also dozens of tiny quests interspersed throughout these mission areas that get rewards and excitement besides developing the game. For established players, it's a good thing. But to a newcomer in the world of Guild Wars, this rapid race through the levels gives relatively little time to get used to its foibles.

In a player versus player environment, its quite gratifying to customise characters on a whim and kick some heads for a couple of hours. The main attraction is the challenge system, where teams of four players go against carefully constructed computer players, dodging between a good challenge and later turning Guild Wars into a puzzle game.

Verdict: Guild Wars builds up a good game play, and that's all that really matters.